::SHE+ILA:: files (and external peripherals)

More about ::SHE+ILA:: files (and external peripherals)

In ::SHE+ILA+MSW::, the MS-Windows ::SHE+ILA:: emulator, you may wish to access external peripherals, such as disk files or printers. (The native-mode ::SHE+ILA:: does not use "files", instead you should use Segments, which hold both procedures (methods) and documents (variables and data items)). Anyway, you can assign an EDn: device to an "External Disk file number n", and then treat it as a Buf, and use the standard FBI (Fundamental Buffer Interface) opcodes on it to navigate into and through it. For example, {ASSIGN (&ED1:, "C:\README.TXT");} will let you read and/or write the external (MS-Windows) file README.TXT using the Buf called ED1: Similarly, you can use LP1: as your first printer, GL1: as your first screen's OpenGL renderer, TR1: as your paper tape reader (lol!) who has one of those nowadays, hehe; RS1: as your first RS232 port (if you still have any), and so on :) Other external peripherals (retro hardware) could include CR1: (card reader), TP1: (paper tape punch), CT1: (cassette (!) deck), GU1: (Gravis Ultrasound (!)), NL1: (bit bucket), XC1: (executive copy), CI1: (command issuer), and BA1: (batch data extractor). Yay for 1970's mainframes :)